


I Warned You, Didn't I?

by mosessupposes



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Ending, Angst, Ep. 7 spoilers, M/M, Or just take a very different turn, The series hasn't ended but it probably would if this happened
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-11
Updated: 2016-12-11
Packaged: 2018-09-07 19:39:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8813680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mosessupposes/pseuds/mosessupposes
Summary: During the Cup of China, Victor warned that if Yuri didn't place on the podium, he would resign as his coach. Yuri would soon find out how serious he was.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MotherofRoses](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MotherofRoses/gifts).



> For my best friend, Wendy. She wanted angst, I provided.

Shaking. Sweating. Shortness of breath. Gross, clammy hands. That was all Yuri Katsuki could feel as he watched his fellow competitors perform their seemingly flawless routines. Even if they fell or made a mistake, their skating seemed to outshine anything that he could ever do. That was how he felt, anyway. In truth, the skater knew that he had made some major improvements since he started with his new coach. He was able to express emotions from rage to love better than he ever had before. Yuri knew he was a great skater. Deep down, he knew. But as he watched his friends perform so beautifully, he was nervous beyond belief.

  
What would his career become if he lost the Cup of China? Where would his confidence be then? Most importantly, how would Victor, his beloved coach, react? The thoughts that ran through Yuri's mind terrified him. He was always one to assume the worst in every situation. If he messed up on his routine, even in the slightest bit, perhaps his career would be put to a fateful end. One slip-up, one fall, one incomplete combination spin could send him into peril. His career seemed to be hanging by a thread, although he knew that these thoughts were irrational. Nothing was going to happen if he didn't do his best, right?

  
But then Yuri thought of Victor. The beautiful Russian coach had taken Yuri in, almost as if he were a stray animal. Yuri was drawn to Victor, the man who had taught him the skills he needed to become successful in his craft. Victor was a renowned genius. Everyone, including Yuri himself, knew how lucky the young skater was to have such a legend at his side. Victor had been drawn to Yuri and had been so sure of his success that he gave up his own title as a legend figure skater to pursue coaching. What if Victor regretted that? Surely if Yuri failed to succeed in this detrimental competition, Victor would see all of their past experiences as pointless. What was Yuri if he couldn't make his coach proud? Racing thoughts made the young man even more exhausted than he already was. A lack of sleep the night before had prohibited him from thinking clearly. He even found himself unable to perform jumps during the six-minute practice before his group performed. If he couldn't at least do that, how could he expect to impress Victor with his routine?

  
"A perfect landing from Christophe Giacometti!" an announcer's voice rang over the rink.

  
Oh God, he couldn't take it anymore. The contestants seemed to get more and more talented the longer the show went on. Why did Yuri have to go last? Why did he have to suffer this horrible tension? Why couldn't he stop feeling so horrible about himself?

  
"Yuri."

The young man swung his head to face the figure behind him. He tried desperately to conceal the weakened state of his heart, but to no avail.

  
"Victor, I-"

  
"Let's go somewhere a little more quiet, okay?" the coach spoke swiftly.

  
"...Okay."

  
As the two men walked downstairs to the parking garage of the building, even more praise for Swiss skater Christophe Giacometti could be heard. Surely his routine had been amazing. The applause of the crowd, usually a positive sound for any skater to hear, sounded like the clanging of metal against a brick wall. It chimed and screeched in Yuri's ears until the quiet, calm voice of his coach replaced it.

  
"Put your earbuds in. We're going to practice a little more."

  
Yuri did as he was told, and suddenly the world didn't seem as scary anymore. He was still mortified, but at least he could escape from whatever was happening outside of the boundary he had created. As far as Yuri was concerned, he and Viktor were the only ones in the building. He had only wished that that had been true. As Yuri began to tire from the exercises he had been doing, he looked up to see Victor's eyes glued to the TV screen on the wall. And once he took his earbuds out, Yuri's eyes couldn't leave the screen, either.

  
Phichit Chulanont, Yuri's best friend, was making history right before everyone's eyes. The first Thai competitor to skate to music from The King and the Skater was quickly becoming the first to advance to the prestigious Grand Prix Final. Phichit was amazing. One could tell how lifted his spirits were just by looking at him. He was glowing with confidence, and the scarce amount that Yuri had disappeared into the atmosphere. Victor eventually noticed how silent his trainee had become and began to look towards him. Just as quickly as he gazed over, he jumped forward and clamped his hands over Yuri's ears.

  
"Don't listen!" he demanded.

  
Yuri wore an expression of sheer fright. How could he compete with the perfection that he had just seen? He doubted that he would be able to combat Phichit's program if he had gotten enough sleep. How was he supposed to succeed in his restless state? How was he supposed to impress Victor? How could he expect to keep Victor? There's no way the amazing athlete would give such a weak person the time of day. They had worked so hard. They achieved so much, and they achieved it together. As he stood frozen in the spacious lot, Yuri's mind was clogged with the thought that he would be putting all of that hard work to waste. Throwing it away as if it had meant nothing. Oh God, did Victor think that he didn't care? That it really did mean nothing to him? That wasn't the truth at all. Yuri would never regret the time spent with his coach. That's the last thing he wanted Victor to think.

  
His gaze met the TV screen as it was trying to avert Victor's stern eyes. Leo de la Iglesia was skating now, which meant that it was almost time. Visibly drained from the doubts that consumed him, Yuri pried the coach's hands off of his ears.

  
"V-Victor? It's almost time. We need to get back."

  
Victor was silent, but Yuri was too focused on the task at hand to notice. His tired feet began treading towards the stairs. They promptly stopped, though, upon the sound of Victor's voice.

  
"Yuri."

  
"What?" Yuri asked as he looked over his shoulder.

  
Victor sighed and used his fingers to comb through thin locks of silver hair. He turned to his student whom he loved so much - he truly did - and carefully vocalized what he had been thinking throughout the whole day.

  
"If you mess up this free skate and miss the podium, I'll take responsibility by resigning as your coach."

  
Yuri froze. The world around him froze. Time itself seemed to follow suit. His face grew hot among the cold and soon the hardened crystals contained within his eyes melted and escaped all at once. He couldn't stop them, nor did he try to. Why would Victor say such a thing? How could he after all they had been through together; after all they had achieved? Yuri wasted so many passionate thoughts on him just a few minutes before, so why would he say that? Victor wiped away Yuri's tears and kissed each of his cheeks once the quivering breaths began to fade. Then, not before holding him in a brief embrace, he began towards the stairs. Yuri, still shaken up from the impact of his idol's words, hesitantly followed behind him.

  
There was so much he wanted to say, but he couldn't muster the energy and courage to do so. Instead, Yuri did as he was so used to doing. He tried to bottle up the despair in his heart as to better focus on his upcoming routine. With Victor's arm around him, Yuri walked to the rink. The expertise of Georgi Popovich's skating in front of him had no effect. He no longer felt pressured by the competitors. Yuri didn't care anymore. He was completely numb. Minutes passed, seeming like hours to him. He and Victor stood in silence as they waited for his turn. The moment he heard the announcer call his name, Yuri turned from Victor and sped toward the middle of the rink.

  
* * *

  
Yuri's performance was amateur. No, better yet, mediocre. He hadn't felt like such a failure since losing the Grand Prix Finals the year before. But he was a much weaker person back then, right? That's what he tried to tell himself, although he felt as if he hadn't changed at all. Or, more accurately, that the strong man he was for a few months had recessed back into what he was before; a failure. Yuri failed. He failed to achieve his dream of competing in the Grand Prix Final again. He failed himself. He failed Victor. Yuri was done. He wanted to go home and forget any of this ever happened.

  
But he couldn't forget. How was he supposed to forget the promise Victor had made to him? His relationship with Victor was over. It was amazing while it lasted, of course. But it didn't last nearly long enough. It hurt the young skater to know that the relationship he held on to so dearly meant nothing anymore. It was like dust in the wind. Blown away by a simple word. But if, by some miracle, his horrible score would earn him a place on the podium, Victor would stay by his side. But now that Victor's doubts were out in the open, Yuri wasn't sure he even wanted him around.

  
His score wasn't even close. Rather than placing him in the top three, Yuri ended up in fifth. One of the greatest figure skaters in Japan had fumbled so tremendously that he was dangerously near to placing last. It was disgraceful. He sat with Victor after his score was announced, cameras flashing all around him. Victor offered no words of encouragement. No pats on the back. Not even a simple touch. They rose from the bench and proceeded to walk out of the room.

  
"He won't be taking any interviews. We apologize for any inconvenience." Victor smiled politely to the cameras as if he was unaware of Yuri's broken heart. It almost seemed like he didn't care. This would be a false assumption, of course. Victor cared immensely about Yuri's well-being. He just couldn't afford to waste his time anymore. His career as an ice skater was beckoning to him at every angle, and if he wasn't good at coaching he wasn't going to spend years trying to get better. Although this made sense to Yuri, it didn't help to heal the pain in his chest. After the final placements were called and everyone began clearing out of the rink, Yuri heard a familiar voice beckon him.

  
"Yuri!" Phichit called, practically running out of the rink and into the hall. He placed a hand on his friend's shoulder before continuing, "Come with me, I just wanna talk to you."

  
"Alright," Yuri replied softly. He let Victor know that he was going with his friend for a second and followed Phichit into the dressing room they had prepared in. Most of the skaters were out in the lobby and halls of the building, meeting with fans and congratulating each other. This left the dressing room mostly empty, sans a few coaches talking amongst themselves.

  
"Yuri," Phichit began in a calm tone and pulled Yuri into a hug, "I look up to you, you know. I always have."

  
And like a switch, Yuri began to cry once again.

  
"Oh, Yuri..." Phichit stroked his best friend's hair, "Shh, it's okay."

  
"It's not!" Yuri wailed, clinging to Phichit's shirt.

  
"It's only a medal, Yuri. You may not have placed, but you've done more than enough to make your mark-"

  
"I don't care about that!"

  
Phichit pulled away from the embrace and placed his gentle hands on Yuri's shoulders instead. "Then what's the matter?"

  
"Victor told me that if I didn't place, he-" the disheartened man choked, "He would take responsibility by resigning as my coach."

  
Phichit stared at him in disbelief. "He _what_?"

  
"Look, I don't want to talk about it, okay? Please don't tell anyone."

  
"But Yuri-"

  
"Promise me!"

  
"...Okay," the Thai skater gave in, "I promise."

  
"Thank you." Yuri wiped away the last of his tears. "I'm gonna head back out, then."

  
"Sure."

  
When Yuri began to turn around, Phichit thought of a million things he wanted to say. It was hard for him to choose. He was afraid that he'd only end up hurting Yuri more or rubbing it in. But he couldn't just leave it at that. He had to say something that he meant from the bottom of his heart.

  
"Yuri!" he called.

  
Yuri turned to face him, "Yeah?"

  
"No matter what other people say, you skate more beautifully than anyone I've ever seen. Please don't forget that."

  
Yuri paused and a small smile came across his face. "Congratulations, Phichit."

  
After leaving the room, Yuri was immediately met by a seemingly irritated Victor. "There you are. We need to get going."

  
"For what?" Yuri asked. There was no reason for Victor to be in such a hurry, was there? They were staying in a hotel for the night and leaving the next afternoon. There was plenty of time.

  
"I rescheduled our flight to one that leaves in two hours. It takes about half an hour to get from our hotel to the airport, so-"

  
"Why would you do that?" Yuri exclaimed slightly louder than he had meant to. "Our old flight was fine and we already have another night in the hotel paid for."

  
"Yuri, just-" Victor sighed. "Let's just go, okay?"

  
"What's gotten into you?"

  
"You know the answer to that. Are you coming with me or not?"

  
"Fine," Yuri huffed.

  
The cab ride back to the hotel was gruesomely silent. It was sensible to say that one could physically cut through the thickness of the tense atmosphere. They arrived at the hotel and, as if in one swift motion, packed their bags and left for the airport. Time had been too slow to Yuri at the beginning of the day, and now it seemed to rush by him in an instant. Before he knew it, they were sitting on the plane, quiet as statues. Occasionally Yuri would glance over to the seat next to him, wondering whether he should say something. That is, if there was anything to say at all. Victor was beyond disappointed. Anyone could see that just from the look on his face. Yuri hated himself more and more with each passing second spent with him, and he thought maybe it wasn't such a bad thing that he was leaving. At least it would end this twisted game of passion and false hopes. Yuri really loved Victor. It hurt him to think that his feelings probably weren't returned.

  
The plane landed late in the evening. Everyone in Yuri's house was sure to be asleep, especially since they weren't expecting him home so early. After a cab dropped the silent pair off at Yuri's home, they entered the front door being just as quiet as they had been for hours. Without a word, Victor turned towards the room where he was staying. Yuri's throat began to clench and his heart dropped, knowing that Victor wouldn't be staying there anymore.

  
But, to the skater's surprise, Victor motioned for him to follow. So he did.

  
"Yuri," Victor sighed as he packed boxes full of his things, "I wish I knew what to say."

  
Yuri was silent, so his senior continued, "I don't want you to think that this is your fault. It isn't. The one to blame here is me. I'm not worthy to be a coach. Not yours, not Yurio's, not anyone's."

  
Yuri held back his tears. "That's not-"

  
"Listen to me. I took a risk when I decided to train you. I gave up my career, my whole world, for you. I don't regret a single second of that, but..."

  
"Victor."

  
"I realize now that it was perhaps too much of a risk," Victor continued, "I suppose you could say that you inspired me to continue my career as a professional skater. I don't want to delve into anything else until I retire."

  
"Victor!"

  
The older man looked at his former student, shaking and sobbing. How long had he been doing that? Victor had been too preoccupied with his packing to even notice.  
"What?" he asked, in shock.

  
Yuri sniffled as he tried to quell his shaking breaths. "Please," he breathed, "Please don't go."

  
Victor looked at Yuri and frowned. "I'm sorry. There's not anything else I can do."

  
Yuri couldn't hold his sobs back anymore. He cried for a long time in front of Victor. He bawled and babbled incoherent words about how much he loved having Victor around and how much harder he would work to keep him by his side. " _Of course there's something else you could do. You could stay here with me forever,_ " he thought without being able to verbalize his feelings.

  
***

  
Victor and Yuri stood outside of the large house. The sun was just coming up and a strong winter breeze stung their skin. They stood for a while, just staring at each other and getting a last look of the face that they may not ever see again. A car, packed to the brim with Victor's belongings to take to the airport, was parked on the road waiting for him.

  
"Yuri. Remember what I told you," Victor put his arms gently around the gloomier man.

  
"Victor..."

  
"You are a fantastic skater, and an even more amazing person. You have moved me and inspired me in ways you can't imagine. It's just that this isn't where I'm meant to be. I'm ashamed of my failure as a coach. I'm meant to be out on the ice, not behind the scenes," he released his embrace and looked into Yuri's eyes, "Please forgive me."

  
Yuri's eyes seemed to have dried up from all the crying he had done already. "You're not a failure, Victor. I-"

  
Victor interrupted by gently placing a kiss on Yuri's cheek. "I won't ever forget my time with you."

  
"Victor, I-"

  
A car horn interrupted Yuri's speech this time.

  
"Coming!" Victor called behind him, then looked back at Yuri.

  
Rather than continuing where he left off, Yuri could only find the courage to hug Victor once more. Victor returned the gesture and, light as a feather, brushed his lips against Yuri's ear.

  
"Dasvidaniya."

  
As Yuri watched the man he loved walk away from him he couldn't help but hate himself for lacking the confidence to say what he had wanted to for so long. He loved Victor. He really did. Yuri had never felt this way before, not about anyone. But it was too late now. With one word, Victor had slipped from the young man's life just as all of his dreams did in those past few hours. In that moment he vowed to stop skating competitively. If he had to gaze into those calm, celestial eyes ever again, Yuri wasn't sure what he would do.


End file.
